Sweets and Breads: An Ichigo and Orihime Drabble Series
by myshippingdock
Summary: Because at the end of his journey, he knew she was going to be there. Smiling widely at him with her heart-stopping sunshine grin, hitting him squarely in the gloomy pits of his heart and splashing irresistible mad happiness through every unhappy, frowning corner of him.
1. Chapter 1

April 10th. Ichigo and Orihime.

Prompt: sweet on her…

He shoved his right hand nervously into his pocket as he walked home beside her, frowning harder than usual as he fingered the bad shield tickets that Mizuro and Keigo handed to him before he left to bring Orihime back in December.

Turned out that Chad and Ishida already had tickets and he was now left with an extra one. He had reluctantly dismissed the unwanted bubble of Orihime's happy face to the back of his mind and decided it would look weird to the others if he asked her to go instead of Tatsuki. They were already curious about how inconspicuously close he and Chad had become with her over the course of fighting hollow crime together. Keigo would bust an eyelid if he brought her to the concert without an explanation.

Turned out Tatsuki had something else to do and carelessly told him to ask Orihime instead. Fine. Good. It was what he had wanted to do in the first place. I mean, it was fine to do it now that Tatsuki had brought it up.

He was very comfortable with Orihime now after all they had been through, but somehow when it came to her, he always felt self-conscious. Like there was some kind of an invisible line between them he wasn't allowed to cross. He didn't understand why it was freaking hard for him to just spit it out and ask the girl to the concert without sweating profusely. It's not like it was a date. She'd just be hanging out with him and a bunch of other guys like Tatsuki had on occasion. It wasn't a big deal.

But he was keenly aware that he was breaking a sweat over it because it was Orihime. Must be because he was so keenly aware she was a girl unlike most of the other women he knew.

He was weirdly soft on her and he knew it.

Suddenly, he felt the soft touch of her finger poking the dip of the frown on his cheek and he lost his scowl. He shifted to look at her from the corner of his eyes, embarrassed as her cheerful "Kurosaki-kun" brought him out of his glowering daze. "You're frowning…" She lilted, tilting her head cutely at him, "And I thought I was being funny too. Your reaction is out of sync, Kurosaki-kun. Is there something else on your mind?" she inquired simply, curiosity sneaking into warm bottomless brandy eyes he wanted to get drunk on.

He shifted his shifty eyes to the front before he did something stupid and said gruffly, "It's nothing." then got out as casually as he could, "just remembered I had an extra ticket to the bad shield concert thing, courtesy of Mizuro and Keigo. Wanna go?"

She stilled, her cupcake brown eyes widening to a perfect round, a light dusting of pink frosting the slope of her cheekbones, making him feel all the more self-conscious than he already was. What was with his recent trend of likening Orihime's appealing features with confections and beverages that made you lose your damn head?

"Inoue?"

She was taking too long to respond and he was losing his damn head with her taking her own sweet time to come to her senses. He was going to clarify that his invite was casual; in case she ended up turning it down thinking it was a date or something, but she simply beamed at him, eyes sparkling pure bliss, completely surprising him.

"I'd love to. When are we going?" she asked excitedly.

He fished one of the tickets awkwardly from his pocket and handed it to her as he cleared his throat, caught off balance by her easy acceptance. "Great. The rest of the guys will be going too" he rambled," It's in December, next week. 9th or 10th I think, the date's on the ticket. I'll pick you up from your place, so we can go there together…"

He stopped mid-sentence and cringed. Why had he just said that? He just assumed they would go there together, then dismissed this train of thought to add, by way of explanation, "Tatsuki would have my butt if there was any trouble on the way. Best if we leave together right?"

"Oh! Um, Yes Of course! Thank you Kurosaki-kun! I'm looking forward to it." She looked a tad bit disappointed for some reason, but still relatively happy about the entire thing, so he didn't give it much thought.

"Good. No work on the day?"

"Nope. I'm all yours" She said carelessly, and then blushed, smiling sheepishly up at him through her lashes.

"Good." He said again awkwardly, smiling a tad bit goofily back at her.

And ruefully hummed 'All mine' in the wistful spaces of his bright orange head, a warm heat curling his belly at the futile, impossible thought.

Still, a pleasant feeling settled between them as they trudged on in comfortable, contented silence the rest of the way. At the very least, they were getting closer and she didn't seem to mind that much.

He was fine with that. Even as he couldn't help wondering to himself what she would say if he told her he wanted to get closer still… _Closer_ … _until there was no space left between them to breathe._

Probably bash both of their hard heads into each other in that adorable unexpected way she tended to sometimes. And try to bring him back to reality, her imagination going wild, thinking an alien had grabbed hold of his stupid mind and taken over him, turning it to sentimental mush.

He didn't think he could bear the pain of her unbearably kind and goofy rejection. It would only hit him more painfully where it hurts and stamp it on every aching cell of his heart how impossibly endearing she was to him and how hopelessly, madly, irrevocably, stupidly, head over heels sweet on her he was.

Damn, she was a sweet incurable disease he didn't want to be rid of.


	2. Chapter 2

April 15th. Ichigo and Orihime.

Prompt: Nerves

"This isn't a date."

She blinked up at him, a smidgeon of hurt entering her bright brown eyes. Damn it. He hadn't realized he had said that out loud.

"I know that Kurosaki-kun."

She looked down at her slim green cotton dress, floating a light inch below her knees, a white cotton sash cinched around her waist and asked nervously, tucking a strand of her autumn hair behind her ear.

"Am I over-dressed or something that you would think that?"

"No, that's not- I didn't mean. _You're dressed right_." He said finally, stumbling on his words.

"J-just right?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, you look pretty good." He added gruffly, his eyes softening at the look of insecurity flashing in her eyes for a second.

"Oh, then," She pouted a bit, smiling uncertainly, "you didn't have to say it like that- I mean, would it be so bad if it were a date?" she blurted out unexpectedly, and went on in a careless rambling rush, her mouth running off with her thoughts before she could think about it "I mean, I know we're friends, but um, Kurosaki-kun saying this isn't a date makes me think that Kurosaki-kun would rather I didn't think this was a date and that's really fine, Kurosaki-kun, I wouldn't think about us going on a date or anything, but um, it's a little soul-crushing you know. I mean I- I don't really mean anything by it, so don't worry, but am I not pretty enough for Kurosaki-kun to go on a date with- I mean- wait- that's not what I meant- I – um I-ITs just a girl thing, I think…" she trailed off embarrassedly, unsure of herself.

Her honey brown globes went as wide as his following her lengthy outburst and stilled, heating up with a strange shyness, her entire face flushing prettily.

He coughed nervously, his nerves taut and he blurted out, not wanting her to misunderstand and feel stupidly insecure for nothing "A guy would have to be absurd to not want to date you. And blind or have completely dismal taste to think _you're_ not pretty enough for him, Inoue."

"Oh!" She couldn't possibly have turned any redder than she already was, but she had, and he found his cheeks warming in response and matching the intensity of her blushes.

"Yeah," he said blankly and babbled incessantly in turn, "I hadn't _meant_ to say- out loud I mean. _I_ _hadn't realized I had_. I was just reminding myself – in my head- I mean, I know we're friends and nothing more, but um, well, Guys don't come knocking at you for nothing you know. Good thing Tatsuki beats them out before- uh Anyway, what I meant to say- Tatsuki and Rukia are pretty much the only girls I've hung out with. You and me, well, we haven't really hung out on our own much, have we? Chad or Ishida or somebody's always _there_. So well, um- you can't blame a guy for being nervous, right? I was just… reminding myself it wasn't a date… to feel comfortable…" he added nervously, "Sorry for the misunderstanding."

"Ohhh. I see." She smiled at him in awe, understanding, a strange softness melting into her smile, the glimpses of nervousness and uncertainty fading away, "I-Its okay Kurosaki-kun. And um, thank you. I'm sorry I over reacted.'

"It's fine." He shrugged casually, feeling a breath of relief soothing his uptight nerves. "As long as it's all clear. Are you ready to leave then?"

"Yup. I'm all yours today" she said sweetly, over still faintly blushing cheeks, a small impish curve to the tilt of her smile.

And just like that, his scrambled nerves relaxed. And weirdly enough, he found himself liking the strange, humming tension that settled between them.

 _It wasn't much, but at least he knew for certain she didn't find the idea of a date with him impossible to imagine._


	3. Chapter 3

April 20th. Ichigo and Orihime.

Prompt: Because.

When Ukitake Taichou offered him the position of Captain in Soul Society and asked him to stay and protect Soul Society, he didn't have to think about it. He said no.

Soul Society was special to him. It was once his Father's home. It was Renji and Rukia's home. And Toshiro and Byakuya and Ganju and all of the Captain's and shinigami's he had become well-acquainted with and come to know as well as the back of his hand now.

He was grateful.

He was grateful to Rukia for bringing Soul Society to him and changing his world and giving him the means to protect the people he loved. He was grateful for all the friendships that had strengthened since his journey had begun with her. He would miss her and Renji and the rest of them. They had become too much a part of his life for him not too. But he would not change his mind.

He would wear his Shinigami badge with pride. And he would come to Soul Society's aid in the blink of an eye, but he could not _live_ there.

He could not accept the position of Captain and he could not make Soul Society his permanent home.

Because that would mean leaving Karakara.

Even if he could still see his family and friends in Karakura while living in Soul Society, it would not be enough to satisfy him.

 _Because he was alive._

And as much Human as he was Shinigami or Quincy or Hollow and he was damn proud of it.

Because Karakura was his home.

Because Karakura was where his family lived.

Because Karakura was where his embarrassing father liked to embarrass himself over mom on a daily basis and annoy the heck out of his two of a kind kid sisters that he cherished beyond life itself.

Because Karakura was where he was a regular kid with extraordinary abilities, and went to school with a bunch of crazy, dorky, loyal friends that were too much a part of his life to simply leave behind.

Because Karakura was where he, Chad, Ishida and Inoue made a pact. A pact to protect it together. And he was damned if he was going to break his promise to them and leave them to do it on their own.

Because he would miss them like crazy and it would be really lame if he left them before he even died properly the way regular humans did before their souls slipped into Soul Society by the grace of some Shinigami.

Because Karakura was where he wanted to be as regular as it was possible for him to be, to finish school and graduate and chase the skies and a worthwhile future like the rest of his boring, human friends.

Because when he thought that he would break, he didn't. _Because she was there._

A brightbright girl with soft amber-gold lights in the swish of her provocative, waist-length hair, who made it impossible for him to hold on to his frowns and the sad angst of his past.

Because the curve of her lips shot evergreen smiles at him that made him want to curl his toes and hum uncharacteristically.

Because the warm brandy of her prettypretty eyes which almost always shone merrily up at him made him swallow nervously and bite the inside of his cheeks.

Because the happy, melodic chirp of her voice softened his insides and made him want to croak awkwardly back at her just because.

Because her giggly, unself-conscious silliness kicked his self-consciousness to the curb and made him feel all goofy and googley-eyed on the inside and just like that, he gave himself a break to just be a dork and bask in her equally dorky sunshine.

Because when she cried those, big sloppy ugly tears, even the blotchy red of her sniffling nose and sticky wet cheeks became terribly cute and made him stare at her with all the softness of a besotted fool of a grizzly bear.

She was a soft, overwhelming force that was sweetly, fiercely grabbing hold of his heart and squeezing and filling it with an all-encompassing love that was so compassionate and devastating he was afraid his veins would burst from the aching, choking, wonderful pressure of it and his jaws would hurt from the unexpected biggest, massive, ear-splitting, dorkiest grinning he was prone to in her presence.

She unwound him.

And relaxed and poked and laughed and unknotted all the unwanted tension in his grumpy bones.

Her impartial compassion was an all- consuming aphrodisiac.

She made it all okay.

Because at the end of his journey, he knew she was going to be there.

Smiling widely at him with her heart-stopping sunshine grin, hitting him squarely in the gloomy pits of his heart and splashing irresistible mad happiness through every unhappy, frowning corner of him.

 _Because She was his final Because_. Period.


End file.
